"The acolytes of Mohayzu view rulership and order as constraint, causing their own bodies to rebel against its natural order, until the acolyte tears itself apart out of an unwillingness to rule itself." Damn dude, that's one of the most terrifying and badass concepts I've heard from a hard fantasy setting. Amazing work!
@@baltofarlander2618 Well, let's face it...the concept of the Affliction is similar to that of karma except even more directly and personally in the sense that retribution is inflicted upon you not by other people but by your own body/self. Acolytes of Aan who go astray literally turn to stone and become trapped in their own bodies (one assumes they don't die but remain conscious to at least some degree) in the same way that they tried to block or confine or obstruct others. Acolytes of Hlatikuulmak transform into savage beasts and lose control of themselves as they carelessly and impulsively brought instability to others. Acolytes of Nga'uri-thaal go insane and are deceived by their own minds as they have deceived others. Acolytes of Imunrakhar dissolve and prove that they have paradoxically become as corrupted in their own way as those whom they sought to cleanse or heal or judge. Acolytes of Tsenkaras become mindless slaves serving the will of others just as they tried to subject others to their own will. The acolytes of Mohayzu flout the rules and will of others with the result that their own bodies defy them. Acolytes of Virastir literally decay and eventually are destroyed in the same way that they have brought destruction to others.
Damn, this might be the first time in a fantasy story where I went "maybe the world would be better off without magic actually." This shit is terrifying, well fucking done!
In comparison with... ...becoming a savage animal? ...going totally insane? ...turning into a mindless slave? ...becoming hideously deformed? ...turning into a living corpse? Hell, yes -- turning to stone doesn't sound so bad (although starting to glow and then dissolving into air doesn't sound that bad either).
@@OreadNYC It's a tragic fate no matter which of the essences you're dealing with. Stone would be much worse if you remained aware of your surroundings while being unable to interact with them; in other words, lacking a mouth but needing to scream.
@@thepikamence1250 While I do see what you mean, the video says that acolytes of Aan who fall victim to the Affliction begin to lose touch with the world around them. Their mental as well as physical faculties slow down and their senses are less acute. From the sound of it, I think the closest equivalent to being an acolyte of Aan in the final stages of the Affliction would be someone who is catatonic or comatose rather than someone who's merely suffering from physical paralysis. If the acolyte remains alive after being turned to stone, they're probably hovering on the edge of consciousness rather than being wide awake -- the pilot light is still on, so to speak, but that's about it.
The fact that the essence of "meh" is the most powerful is definitely a very interesting one... what does it hold that we cannot perceive that does not make it resist our change?
It makes sense if you consider how it's basically the divine/magical version of inertia, which is by itself a very powerful force in its passivity. Movement and change need energy and a waste of power and resources, but stillness can remain without any fuel. Every object or being naturally gravitates towards it unless it actively tries to fight it. The rest of the Seven Essences seem to be achieved through trial, but Aan is achieved by lack of trial, by just not doing anything and spending no energy to achieve it. It makes a lot of sense it's the strongest Essence.
@@CM-ss5pe I would argue that in our world, everything naturally tends to decay, since entropy is a fundamental phenomenon of nature. The refugium may be different.
Well, Virastir might be the most powerful of the essences, since it's likely the reason for the ocean of darkness. Aan is just so powerful that it can keep it at bay. For now.
So basically Virastir is fighting Aan, Mohayzu is fighting Tsenkaras, Imunrakhar is too perfect to care and Hlatikuulmak is just nuts. Nga'uri-thaal (chad) is simply trying to take a nap.
Nga'uri-thaal is just that shy non-talkative introvert friend is actually really wise and has a lot of knowledge about things. It shares this knowledge with his acolytes just so that they stop bothering it and let it sleep again lol.
Every essence lets you do cool magic if you are devout to them, but can backfire if you are too devout. Finally a magic system with decent consequences
@@cerberaodollam except the consequences of being too devout in Christianity is that you become a Karen As opposed to being petrified, a monster, insane, disappearing into the ether, becoming an automaton, a husk or just plain dead
I didn't see it that way. A person who is devout is generally considered to be someone who's humble (genuinely so and not falsely, hypocritically, or pretentiously so). The video implies that the Affliction punishes those who become corrupt and egotistical to the point that they attribute the power to themselves more than the Essence and attempt to direct it primarily for their own purposes. ("Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.") That doesn't sound like someone who's sincerely humble to me -- and therefore, it doesn't sound like someone who's devout. In much the same way that the smartest people paradoxically acknowledge how little they actually understand, truly devout acolytes of one of the Essences would accept that they're merely conduits of the power and not the source of the power. It does not serve them...they serve it. As such, they must be willing to put their own egos aside to at least some degree and allow Essence to work through them instead of trying to bend the Essence to their own will. (That's actually a lot harder for many people to do than they think, because it's all too easy for humans to deceive themselves.)
I imagine there’s two sort of teams each pushing a different theme. Aan, Imunrakhar, and Tsenkaras who push humanity towards a more orderly and structured world And Mohayzu, Hlatikuulmak, and nga’uri-thaal who prefer a chaotic and more free world. All with a the common enemy of Virastir who wishes for nothing but death. Maybe in the book the characters representing opposite themes have come to a middle ground in order to stop Virastir.
The worldbuilding in this video is spectacular and so fascinating! I would 100% read a high fantasy novel set in the world of Refugium and the Seven Essences.
I love how each essence embodies or demonstrates a deep flaw with humanity Aan - Laziness Hlatikuulaak - Impulsiveness Nga'uri-thaal - Ignorance Imunrakhar - Imperfection Tsenkaras - Pride Mohayzu - Nonconformity Virastir - Hatred You said you may make a story out of this. You could extract amazing themes from this.
Probable equivalents for the Seven Deadly Sins... Aan = Sloth Hlatikuulaak = Lust Nga'uri-thaal = Envy Imunrakhar = Pride Tsenkaras = Greed Mohayzu = Gluttony Virastir = Wrath Aan, Imunrakhar, and Virastir are obvious -- the others, less so. I envision Nga'uri-thaal as Envy because it wants what it does not have (knowledge that is hidden or secret). I envision Tsenkaras as Greed because it wants control and power for itself -- but also because greed can paradoxically cause people to become enslaved just like Tsenkaras can. I envision Mohayzu as Gluttony because Mohayzu doesn't want to acknowledge limits any more than the glutton does.
We need one of those buzzfeed quizzes for this, "Which essence is your dominant essence?" And then all the questions have nothing to do with personality or the essences
FYI: The fire/air/water/earth system of "elements" comes from 19th-Century esoteric movements that were based on Renaissance and Medieval esoteric movements that, themselves, were based ultimately on Ancient Greek philosophical schools of thought, which in turn were trying to answer the question: "What is the Cosmos made of?" Different schools tried to come up with convincing explanations that, "everything is made of 'earth'," or "everything is composed of 'fire'." The one that was most convincing, and therefore survived, combined fire, air, water, and earth. So, that's where the 4-Element-System that shows up everywhere originally came from. ⋮ [Interestingly, there's a parallel between the 4-Element-System and the 4 physical states of matter: Solid, Liquid, and Gas obviously map to Earth, Water, and Air, respectively. But _parts of_ a flame are hot enough to ionize the combusting molecules. And an ionized-gas is the 4th-physical state of matter: Plasma. Lightning, too, creates a Plasma. So, one _could_ map Fire to Plasma.]
I noticed that too. I got a bit tired of the malevolence tbh like I found myself imagining an acolyte, finding the virtue within their philosophy, accepting and embracing their affliction as a manner of returning to what they value most. But that would’ve been too comfortable a story to tell: horror is better.
@@tompatterson1548 I think only Virastir is fast. The rest grant some form of immortality, implying that the lifespan of most other acolytes is at least over 100 years
@@maxwellsimon4538 they probably last a normal human lifespan *_at a minimum_* if their “immortality” is so well known, but I can also imagine an acolyte being found in a time of crisis like a war and they’d be forced to burn out before they’re 40 just from the stress of constantly having use their magic.
I've just noticed that the essences' names come from different languages: Nga'uri-thaal is probably an Ilothwii word (Biblaridion once said Ilothwii is a language of mystery. Hlatikuulmak is probably from Oqolawak (connection to the sea like the oqalayo people) Tsenkaras is probably from Edun (autocratic empire of the sun) All other are probably from Nekāchti
Now I absolutely need there to be a book or comic or audio drama or any type of story set in this world. I really hope you can get around to making something like that when Alien Biospheres is finished, even if it takes years for it to come out. I'll wait patiently
It seems like any essence in its pure form is an eldritch and perverse force, but a delicate balance between all of them is what creates the worldly objects and people.
Biblaridon! Thank you so much for the video! Hello from Russia. I will wait for subtitles, as I don't perceive information very well by ear. And thank you for the idea of a flat world and moons, based on your ideas (if you don't mind) I decided to create and work out my world - Katafugiy ("Катафугий" - when entering into Google). Thank you very much, also for your other videos. You are one of the most interesting UA-camrs in the world Good luck in the development of the channel!
@Les Brouettes Hyperactives I have a link to an article in VK, but it's in Russian. But the link is not inserted. It is necessary to enter "Katafugiy" in Google and find the article on my page. I apologize for the inconvenience
I love this magic system! This is quite unusual for me because a system I've created for my conworld is quite hard: magic is an act of transferring energy in ways not permitted by physics (if you need to teleport an object you must make it become molecules, send those molecules to a certain place and rebuild the object) that is caused by a mutated protein in a mage's muscles. That's why all mages overcome some mutations (similar to witchers) that make their muscles really big for them to be able to cast powerful spells. And forgot to say if you cast something you must take energy from somewhere. The best version is a lake or a river (it is going to freeze) or mage's own fat. Even though I don't create systems full of mystery I love this one. From Russia with love
"Hard magic systems" are a myth, elements of a setting can only exist as a reflection of the themes and character arcs of a work within that setting. The Refugium is a world build on regression, uncertainty, and isolation, so it wouldn't make sense for its magic to be anything *other* than atavistic expressions of base human pride, arrogance, and misanthropy. If your magic doesn't reflect your core themes and ideas to the same extent then differentiating between "soft" and "hard" is completely meaningless.
Is it? The earlier video says that those who dare to travel beyond the areas lighted by the sun never return...so how do you know what's there or isn't there? From my point of view, the region beyond Refugium would if anything be the domain of Nga'uri-thaal because it's unknown. If there's nobody and nothing there apart from bitter cold and snow, that might make it a domain for Mohayzu which favors places where few people go -- and possibly also a domain for Virastir since the cold and never-ending darkness probably cause most creatures from inside the Refugium to die (that said, there are places here on this planet in caves and the deepest parts of the ocean where it is both very cold and always dark and yet life not only exists but thrives there).
@@OreadNYC Could be a place where both all and none of the essences prevail. My thinking was based only on the notion that it would be cold and largely airless (due to low temperature) owning to the lack of heat and light from the 'suns' hovering over the centre of the Refugium.
I genuinely adore your fantasy world. I am desperate to see more. I also wonder if there's another "refugium" out beyond the void. I imagine it's the equivalent to a star system, but in a fantasy sense. Each refugium is literally lightyears worth of a distance between one another.
And its really interesting what happened before the refugium. What happened that humanity ends up having to create refugium etc. and probably theres also other refugiums. Really interesting if somehow someone are able to travel the darkness and able to stumble another refugium, its gonna be like an isekai even though they're in the same world just cuz how massively different theyre cultures and even biology differs.
These essences really give me this sort of lovecraftian thought of the supernatural being indifferent to life. Like, the essences are just forces of nature that exist for their own sake. They are not selfish, nor cruel, nor evil persay, because they do not have morals, they don't percive morals, they only desire to further their own interests. It's like the old thought experiment of the AI that makes paper clips, it only makes paper clips.
YEEEEEEEESSSS!!!! This magic system is just awesome!! It’s so creative how each essence can stand for a distinct element(s)/set of values/aesthetic while never falling into a more traditional air, earth, fire, etc. system. The Affliction is the coolest weakness in any magic system I’ve ever seen, and with each essence it’s s intuitive what the drawbacks of fully embracing that aspect of the human psyche are. And the concept of the vagueness of the essence’s nature is so interesting. They operate vaguely like gods in the sense they have intentions, schemes, and simplified values but the fact they can’t be seen or understood is almost Lovecraftian. And it’s actually really dark the disregard all of these unfathomably powerful gods or more accurately forces of nature have for human existence. And then how you tie each of them into flaws with human nature and make all magic costly it’s so bleak and hopeless I love it. You’re just so creative and I admire your worldbuilding! The Refugium is the coolest thing.
Aan - Being as presence (Parmenides) Hlaatikulmak - Being as Becoming (Heraclitus) Nharrithaal - Being as thinking and unconcealing (Heidegger) Imunrahar - Being as Truth and Beauty (Aristotle, Bonaventura) Tsenkaras - Tehnke as progress and efficiency (Hegel, Marx) Mohayzu and Virastir - Being as decay (Mainländer)
This is so original! Each essence has its own flaws, for example, Imunrakhar and Mohayzu both have their cons. No essence is "good" or "evil", they all should be used moderately or else you turn into an abomination of the essence; I *_like_* this system!
I love how you don't define the Essences by any clear-cut "good" or "evil" morals. Each on its own kinda sucks, because--as you said--too much of one Essence is never a good thing. Now that's how you do worldbuilding.
This is big lore material, which I absolutely adore. Keep up the great work, its always nice to have a peek into what you create. This reminds me so much of how My name is Byf delivers his content, its almost scary.
When you think about it, it might not be that difficult to translate the Seven from "Game Of Thrones" to the Seven Essences. Aan = Mother (constancy, stability) Hlatikuulmak = Warrior (ferocity) Ng'uri-thaal = Crone (hidden wisdom) Imunrakhar = Maiden (purification) Tsenkaras = Father (judge/ruler) Mohayzu = Smith (independence) Virastir = Stranger (death)
I think I figured out what each essence represents. This idea is based on the fact that this world was originally designed for table-top RPGs. Each essence is a player, and each player is roleplaying a different D&D alignment. Aan - True Neutral Hlatikuulmak - Chaotic Evil Imunrakhar - Lawful Evil Tsenkaras - Lawful Neutral Mohayzu - Chaotic Neutral Virastir - Neutral Evil Nga'uri'thaal - the DM If you had a game with 6 players who all wanted to play acolytes with either neutral or evil moral alignments, than each player would be able to pick an essence based on their alignment. The only essence that doesn't fit is Nga'uri'thaal, but given that Nga'uri'thaal is an essence based around secrets and knowledge, they probably represent the DM. The thing that jumps out at me the most is that this world doesn't have anything to offer a player who chooses a good alignment. Maybe it's not meant to be played with a good alignment, or maybe there are 3 missing essences.
I have a few questions, not about confusion but ones to hopefully bring even more depth to this wonderful project. 1. Has there ever been an acolyte that adheres to multiple Essences? I think this could be an interesting historical event. 2. Are there possibly more Essences than are currently known by man?
Since the essences shown manifest based on human emotions or characteristics, maybe some essence is so alien and unknowable to us, humans, we aren't even made out of it. But since the Essence of SECRETS have manifested itself, I find it really hard to believe that another is hiding or in isolation.
1. I was asking myself the same thing, but the way he describes the acolytes is by being closer to one essence over all others, so I think such a person would be the exception to the exception, but assuming two similar essences have some overlap in their goals, that would be interesting, I wonder if the acolyte would have an easier time avoiding the affliction, since it is the unbalance between essences, but would have a harder time trying not to lose one of these Powers by acting against the will on one of them, the person would have barely any free will, since it needs to please not one, but two essences at the same time.
Was expecting something wholesome like the Seven Chakras, then realised they're actually much closer to the Seven Deadly Sins. Amazing video, rewatched twice.
more refugium, hell yeah! very cool concept, like others said it’s very cohesive and well-balanced. it’s clear you spent a lot of time thinking about this. take all the time you need with your videos btw, they’re always worth the wait!
Already thinking about how I can reflavor dnd’s magic system to fit this… Aan = abjuration Hlatikuulmak = evocation Nga’uri-thaal = divination Imunrakhar = illusion Tsenkaris = enchantment Mohayzu = transmutation Virastir = necromancy I know I missed conjuration, but like, you can’t map eight to seven so…
So, rather than the normal fire/water/air/earth sort of elements, these ones are based off of order/chaos - the usual meanings of order and chaos are split up across seven elements, including some symmetries: aan = order (permanence) hlatikuulmak = chaos (volatility) nga'uri-thaal = concealment and revelation imunrakhar = perfection tsenkaras = order (design) mohayzu = chaos (anarchy) virastir = death
Aan: True Neutral Hlatikuulmak: Chaotic Evil Nga'uri-thaal: Neutral Good Imunrakhar: Lawful Good Tsenkaras: Lawful Neutral Mohayzu: Chaotic Neutral Virastir: Neutral Evil Technically, all 7 placements are baselines that may change overtime as the affliction wears on.
I disagree on Nga'uri-thaal's placement on the alignment. It seems unrelated to any of the good vs evil or lawful vs chaotic scales. To me, it represents the DM. I can imagine that if the players aren't sure what to do, they can have the party go to an acolyte of Nga'uri-thaal and basically ask: "Hey DM, where's the plot supposed to be?" I pegged Imunrakhar as Lawful Evil in a Knights Templar kind of way because the line "and they bear ever more disgust for all things but themselves" doesn't sound very Lawful Good to me and all the others were obviously either neutral or evil. But thinking about it more I kind of agree with you. I can imagine that in a party with one Lawful Good player and 5 Neutral or Evil players, the Lawful Good player might get really frustrated with the antics of the other players, and that frustration ends up affecting the player's acolytes. Though if I'm right and there are actually meant to be 3 missing essences (because this world was made of TTRPGs), then the nature of the 3rd Lawful essence will probably make Imunrakhar's alignment more clear.
@@Iamwolf134 I thought of them from the perspective that this world was originally for TTRPGs, and once i thought about slotting the essences into alignments most of them started fitting so well that is seemed almost intentional. Like Mohayzu and Hlatikuulmak feel very similar when you first hear the explanation, but in terms of alignment it becomes obvious why they are the way they are. It becomes very easy to imagine the essences as the players and the DM acting on the world through the game. If the essences aren't the people but the alignments themselves, then it would make sense for the essences to be static representations of their alignment.
@@astrophysicsperson528 Yeah, I thought of the 7 essences being more dynamic in their dungeons and dragons alignment. And I agree with your assessment of Mohayzu and Hlatikuulmak having some things in common, such as having little to no Unity among its acolytes, and being chaotic and unpredictable in nature. Seeing as Mohayzu represents chaos, dissonance, aberration, and anarchy, and that Hlatikuulmak represents wantonness, passion, ferocity, and tumult, they're pretty danged similar.
Probably has something to do with what the essences are. Maybe very literal words in this world’s languages or something poetically associated with the concepts of the essences.
I did not see this in my notifications when this came out so when I saw this in the recommended videos under another video I clicked on it automatically, not even finishing that video
PERFECTION Your world is one of the best creation I've seen in my life. I firmly believe that you should (must!) write a book or manifest you world in any other shape and form. It truly deserves to be known.
Really enjoyed this integrated and starkly different approach to elements/pantheons in a fantasy world. I hope you do more such videos as they are good grist for thinking about my own world-building projects.
Can we all, if so, just for a moment, appreciate Biblaridion's choice of words, for it resonates in one's mind with a melody of mysticism and is far more than fitting for this video.
Would it be considered "spoiler-ish" to discuss/speculate which in-world languages and vocabulary were used to derive the names for each essence used in the video?
Here's my attempt to coralate the essences with the Enneagram personality type: Aan - 9 Hlatikuulmak - 7 and 3 Nga'uri-thaal - 5 Imunrakhar - 2 Tsenkaras - 1 Mohayzu - 8 and 4 Virastir - 6
Oh man, these guys are hella cool. There are so many aspects mashed into every one of these Essences it's hard to tell if some of them are more like each other than others. You did a fantastic job, dude. Though, I think I'll steer clear of every single one of them. Becoming blind of your human qualities and dissipating into nothing? Yeah, no thanks. 👍
Damn was hoping we get some more Refugium videos! Really interesting stuff! Especially love how each Essence has its own consequences the more you use its power.
ok so I have kind of a mini theory about the essences and the refugium. There are 5 moons circling around 1 sun in the sky, as well as another moon the circles around the entire refugium which is how people in the refugium keep track of the years. In total, 7 celestial bodies and 7 essences, what if each body is where the essences come from and each one represented a different essence. The sun could either represent Imunrakhar as it's a source of light or beauty, but it could also be aan as it's stationary and the only body that doesn't move. If the sun is aan then having the year moon being Virastir would line up as well as it marks the passage of time and unlike the sun it moves more than any other body. This is speculation of course, idk if it's true, but this is just what I think.
The Sun representing Aan also explains why the empire of the Sun is so unwilling to change ideologically (as it was explained in the previous Refugium video)
Also I don't think each celestial body represents an essence. Simply because if Mohayzu had a moon its trajectory would be absolutely random out of the nature of the essence itself
Absolutely love this. Cosmic forces that are both the shadows of the psyche and are what lie beneath the mantle of gods? What, was this tailor made for me??? Beautiful world building
Looking forward to seeing more of your world. I tend to disregard the absolute most of ideas concerning worldbuilding, including mine own, but your work, i think, is actually unique. Well done!
I find funny how the implantation of this metaphysical explanation of the refugium gave it the more life-like aspects of religions in a fictional world. The Lord of the Rings universe is another example that resembles a lot the religious thoughts that existed irl. Oftentimes, when a fictional religious system is created solely out of miss interpretations of physical aspects of the world, to me it feels weak in comparison to existing beliefs of the real world. To me it could be an indication that more elements are present in the formation of religions than what is presently known.
"Wow! Cool magic camps! I wonder which one I'll be in!"
...
"I do not want to practice magic."
"The acolytes of Mohayzu view rulership and order as constraint, causing their own bodies to rebel against its natural order, until the acolyte tears itself apart out of an unwillingness to rule itself."
Damn dude, that's one of the most terrifying and badass concepts I've heard from a hard fantasy setting. Amazing work!
Nice pfp
Tfw you are so anarchist that your own flesh rebels against you
@@baltofarlander2618 Well, let's face it...the concept of the Affliction is similar to that of karma except even more directly and personally in the sense that retribution is inflicted upon you not by other people but by your own body/self.
Acolytes of Aan who go astray literally turn to stone and become trapped in their own bodies (one assumes they don't die but remain conscious to at least some degree) in the same way that they tried to block or confine or obstruct others. Acolytes of Hlatikuulmak transform into savage beasts and lose control of themselves as they carelessly and impulsively brought instability to others. Acolytes of Nga'uri-thaal go insane and are deceived by their own minds as they have deceived others. Acolytes of Imunrakhar dissolve and prove that they have paradoxically become as corrupted in their own way as those whom they sought to cleanse or heal or judge. Acolytes of Tsenkaras become mindless slaves serving the will of others just as they tried to subject others to their own will. The acolytes of Mohayzu flout the rules and will of others with the result that their own bodies defy them. Acolytes of Virastir literally decay and eventually are destroyed in the same way that they have brought destruction to others.
"Slaps roof Mohayzu" come get ya gender!
if you dont develop magical cancer you arent a true anarchist
Damn, this might be the first time in a fantasy story where I went "maybe the world would be better off without magic actually." This shit is terrifying, well fucking done!
What about ? Warhammer fantasy
@@med.ismailmouline7094 fantasy yes. 40k? You cant space travel whit out it
Start of the video: Damn Aan is awful it steals your emotions and turns you into stone
End of the video: Being stone might be pretty cool actually
In comparison with...
...becoming a savage animal?
...going totally insane?
...turning into a mindless slave?
...becoming hideously deformed?
...turning into a living corpse?
Hell, yes -- turning to stone doesn't sound so bad (although starting to glow and then dissolving into air doesn't sound that bad either).
It was enev in the first Refugium video
@@OreadNYC "My main goal in life is to blow up, then act like I don't know nobody! HARHARHARHARHAR"
@@OreadNYC It's a tragic fate no matter which of the essences you're dealing with. Stone would be much worse if you remained aware of your surroundings while being unable to interact with them; in other words, lacking a mouth but needing to scream.
@@thepikamence1250 While I do see what you mean, the video says that acolytes of Aan who fall victim to the Affliction begin to lose touch with the world around them. Their mental as well as physical faculties slow down and their senses are less acute. From the sound of it, I think the closest equivalent to being an acolyte of Aan in the final stages of the Affliction would be someone who is catatonic or comatose rather than someone who's merely suffering from physical paralysis. If the acolyte remains alive after being turned to stone, they're probably hovering on the edge of consciousness rather than being wide awake -- the pilot light is still on, so to speak, but that's about it.
The fact that the essence of "meh" is the most powerful is definitely a very interesting one... what does it hold that we cannot perceive that does not make it resist our change?
It makes sense if you consider how it's basically the divine/magical version of inertia, which is by itself a very powerful force in its passivity. Movement and change need energy and a waste of power and resources, but stillness can remain without any fuel. Every object or being naturally gravitates towards it unless it actively tries to fight it. The rest of the Seven Essences seem to be achieved through trial, but Aan is achieved by lack of trial, by just not doing anything and spending no energy to achieve it. It makes a lot of sense it's the strongest Essence.
@@CM-ss5pe It is the most powerful because it has never used any power
@@CM-ss5pe I would argue that in our world, everything naturally tends to decay, since entropy is a fundamental phenomenon of nature. The refugium may be different.
Well, Virastir might be the most powerful of the essences, since it's likely the reason for the ocean of darkness. Aan is just so powerful that it can keep it at bay. For now.
It also explains why most people are non-magical in the setting: Aan is the most powerful essence and so most people are influenced by it.
So basically Virastir is fighting Aan, Mohayzu is fighting Tsenkaras, Imunrakhar is too perfect to care and Hlatikuulmak is just nuts. Nga'uri-thaal (chad) is simply trying to take a nap.
Nga'uri-thaal is just that shy non-talkative introvert friend is actually really wise and has a lot of knowledge about things. It shares this knowledge with his acolytes just so that they stop bothering it and let it sleep again lol.
Every essence lets you do cool magic if you are devout to them, but can backfire if you are too devout.
Finally a magic system with decent consequences
Hell yea! It makes so much sense and gets me excited to see the insanity he can do with it!
Kinda like how irl religion works too
@@cerberaodollam except the consequences of being too devout in Christianity is that you become a Karen
As opposed to being petrified, a monster, insane, disappearing into the ether, becoming an automaton, a husk or just plain dead
@@pandoratheclay might be an abortion doc murderer though
I didn't see it that way. A person who is devout is generally considered to be someone who's humble (genuinely so and not falsely, hypocritically, or pretentiously so). The video implies that the Affliction punishes those who become corrupt and egotistical to the point that they attribute the power to themselves more than the Essence and attempt to direct it primarily for their own purposes. ("Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.") That doesn't sound like someone who's sincerely humble to me -- and therefore, it doesn't sound like someone who's devout. In much the same way that the smartest people paradoxically acknowledge how little they actually understand, truly devout acolytes of one of the Essences would accept that they're merely conduits of the power and not the source of the power. It does not serve them...they serve it. As such, they must be willing to put their own egos aside to at least some degree and allow Essence to work through them instead of trying to bend the Essence to their own will. (That's actually a lot harder for many people to do than they think, because it's all too easy for humans to deceive themselves.)
I imagine there’s two sort of teams each pushing a different theme.
Aan, Imunrakhar, and Tsenkaras who push humanity towards a more orderly and structured world
And Mohayzu, Hlatikuulmak, and nga’uri-thaal who prefer a chaotic and more free world.
All with a the common enemy of Virastir who wishes for nothing but death.
Maybe in the book the characters representing opposite themes have come to a middle ground in order to stop Virastir.
The worldbuilding in this video is spectacular and so fascinating!
I would 100% read a high fantasy novel set in the world of Refugium and the Seven Essences.
I love how each essence embodies or demonstrates a deep flaw with humanity
Aan - Laziness
Hlatikuulaak - Impulsiveness
Nga'uri-thaal - Ignorance
Imunrakhar - Imperfection
Tsenkaras - Pride
Mohayzu - Nonconformity
Virastir - Hatred
You said you may make a story out of this. You could extract amazing themes from this.
I think Imunrakhar is more pride and Tsenkaras is more Power-hungry
And aan is also stubbornness
Probable equivalents for the Seven Deadly Sins...
Aan = Sloth
Hlatikuulaak = Lust
Nga'uri-thaal = Envy
Imunrakhar = Pride
Tsenkaras = Greed
Mohayzu = Gluttony
Virastir = Wrath
Aan, Imunrakhar, and Virastir are obvious -- the others, less so. I envision Nga'uri-thaal as Envy because it wants what it does not have (knowledge that is hidden or secret). I envision Tsenkaras as Greed because it wants control and power for itself -- but also because greed can paradoxically cause people to become enslaved just like Tsenkaras can. I envision Mohayzu as Gluttony because Mohayzu doesn't want to acknowledge limits any more than the glutton does.
Nonconformity is bad? 🤔
@@cerberaodollam Too much of it, yeah
We need one of those buzzfeed quizzes for this, "Which essence is your dominant essence?" And then all the questions have nothing to do with personality or the essences
Question 1: what is your favourite colour?
I like that these essence aren’t just some boring, unoriginal element like water, fire or earth, but actually something interesting
FYI: The fire/air/water/earth system of "elements" comes from 19th-Century esoteric movements that were based on Renaissance and Medieval esoteric movements that, themselves, were based ultimately on Ancient Greek philosophical schools of thought, which in turn were trying to answer the question: "What is the Cosmos made of?"
Different schools tried to come up with convincing explanations that, "everything is made of 'earth'," or "everything is composed of 'fire'." The one that was most convincing, and therefore survived, combined fire, air, water, and earth.
So, that's where the 4-Element-System that shows up everywhere originally came from.
⋮
[Interestingly, there's a parallel between the 4-Element-System and the 4 physical states of matter: Solid, Liquid, and Gas obviously map to Earth, Water, and Air, respectively. But _parts of_ a flame are hot enough to ionize the combusting molecules. And an ionized-gas is the 4th-physical state of matter: Plasma. Lightning, too, creates a Plasma. So, one _could_ map Fire to Plasma.]
This is some really original worldbuilding right here! Big fan of hw they are basically all "evil" in some way or another. Can't wait for more :)
I noticed that too. I got a bit tired of the malevolence tbh like I found myself imagining an acolyte, finding the virtue within their philosophy, accepting and embracing their affliction as a manner of returning to what they value most. But that would’ve been too comfortable a story to tell: horror is better.
@@AnkhAnanku it also doesn’t say how long it takes for the affliction to take hold.
@@tompatterson1548 I think only Virastir is fast. The rest grant some form of immortality, implying that the lifespan of most other acolytes is at least over 100 years
@@maxwellsimon4538 they probably last a normal human lifespan *_at a minimum_* if their “immortality” is so well known, but I can also imagine an acolyte being found in a time of crisis like a war and they’d be forced to burn out before they’re 40 just from the stress of constantly having use their magic.
I've just noticed that the essences' names come from different languages:
Nga'uri-thaal is probably an Ilothwii word (Biblaridion once said Ilothwii is a language of mystery.
Hlatikuulmak is probably from Oqolawak (connection to the sea like the oqalayo people)
Tsenkaras is probably from Edun (autocratic empire of the sun)
All other are probably from Nekāchti
I think mohayzu is edun
Nekāchti doesn’t allow word-final r, nor does it have a phonemic u, so I think all of the other three are in Edun.
@@NoxaClimaxX sorry. I was wrong
Now I absolutely need there to be a book or comic or audio drama or any type of story set in this world. I really hope you can get around to making something like that when Alien Biospheres is finished, even if it takes years for it to come out. I'll wait patiently
It seems like any essence in its pure form is an eldritch and perverse force, but a delicate balance between all of them is what creates the worldly objects and people.
Biblaridon! Thank you so much for the video! Hello from Russia. I will wait for subtitles, as I don't perceive information very well by ear.
And thank you for the idea of a flat world and moons, based on your ideas (if you don't mind) I decided to create and work out my world - Katafugiy ("Катафугий" - when entering into Google). Thank you very much, also for your other videos. You are one of the most interesting UA-camrs in the world
Good luck in the development of the channel!
@Les Brouettes Hyperactives I have a link to an article in VK, but it's in Russian. But the link is not inserted. It is necessary to enter "Katafugiy" in Google and find the article on my page.
I apologize for the inconvenience
For what it's worth, the English subtitles are there now.
Very cool world! Good job with the detailed ecologies and cultures, as well as the artwork for the animals.
@@zachthewack3583 thank you very much! I'm glad to hear that!
I love this magic system! This is quite unusual for me because a system I've created for my conworld is quite hard: magic is an act of transferring energy in ways not permitted by physics (if you need to teleport an object you must make it become molecules, send those molecules to a certain place and rebuild the object) that is caused by a mutated protein in a mage's muscles. That's why all mages overcome some mutations (similar to witchers) that make their muscles really big for them to be able to cast powerful spells. And forgot to say if you cast something you must take energy from somewhere. The best version is a lake or a river (it is going to freeze) or mage's own fat. Even though I don't create systems full of mystery I love this one. From Russia with love
Holy cow mate! That awesome, do you have your stuff posted to a site or anything like that or is more of a personal thing?
@@dallinhansen2321 no, I don't have a website. My conworld is more like my linguistic playground but I try to flesh it out.
Your system is so creative! It's sort of semi-scientific and I love it.
@@purplemosasaurus5987 it is. The thing is that people of this world don't actually know its nature. All their knowledge is from empirical evidence.
"Hard magic systems" are a myth, elements of a setting can only exist as a reflection of the themes and character arcs of a work within that setting. The Refugium is a world build on regression, uncertainty, and isolation, so it wouldn't make sense for its magic to be anything *other* than atavistic expressions of base human pride, arrogance, and misanthropy. If your magic doesn't reflect your core themes and ideas to the same extent then differentiating between "soft" and "hard" is completely meaningless.
Being honest, I would absolutely LOVE a fantasy story or even a D&D campaign set in The Refugium!
Didn’t he say he used to use it for that?
He made the refugium originally for an unspecified tabletop game (probably d&d)
D&D ≠ any TTRPG
Seems like the region beyond the Refugium would be a domain of Aan, it's absolutely unchanging and functionally timeless.
Is it?
The earlier video says that those who dare to travel beyond the areas lighted by the sun never return...so how do you know what's there or isn't there? From my point of view, the region beyond Refugium would if anything be the domain of Nga'uri-thaal because it's unknown. If there's nobody and nothing there apart from bitter cold and snow, that might make it a domain for Mohayzu which favors places where few people go -- and possibly also a domain for Virastir since the cold and never-ending darkness probably cause most creatures from inside the Refugium to die (that said, there are places here on this planet in caves and the deepest parts of the ocean where it is both very cold and always dark and yet life not only exists but thrives there).
@@OreadNYC Could be a place where both all and none of the essences prevail. My thinking was based only on the notion that it would be cold and largely airless (due to low temperature) owning to the lack of heat and light from the 'suns' hovering over the centre of the Refugium.
these are like my seven braincells arguing with each other when i'm trying to sleep, except they've been given godly powers
I genuinely adore your fantasy world. I am desperate to see more. I also wonder if there's another "refugium" out beyond the void. I imagine it's the equivalent to a star system, but in a fantasy sense. Each refugium is literally lightyears worth of a distance between one another.
And its really interesting what happened before the refugium. What happened that humanity ends up having to create refugium etc. and probably theres also other refugiums. Really interesting if somehow someone are able to travel the darkness and able to stumble another refugium, its gonna be like an isekai even though they're in the same world just cuz how massively different theyre cultures and even biology differs.
These essences really give me this sort of lovecraftian thought of the supernatural being indifferent to life. Like, the essences are just forces of nature that exist for their own sake. They are not selfish, nor cruel, nor evil persay, because they do not have morals, they don't percive morals, they only desire to further their own interests. It's like the old thought experiment of the AI that makes paper clips, it only makes paper clips.
Aan seems like the chillest Essence. Like so long as you keep up some kind of balance, you can just keep on going.
Chilling so much that you stop everything and just don't and just stop, become rock
YEEEEEEEESSSS!!!! This magic system is just awesome!! It’s so creative how each essence can stand for a distinct element(s)/set of values/aesthetic while never falling into a more traditional air, earth, fire, etc. system. The Affliction is the coolest weakness in any magic system I’ve ever seen, and with each essence it’s s intuitive what the drawbacks of fully embracing that aspect of the human psyche are. And the concept of the vagueness of the essence’s nature is so interesting. They operate vaguely like gods in the sense they have intentions, schemes, and simplified values but the fact they can’t be seen or understood is almost Lovecraftian. And it’s actually really dark the disregard all of these unfathomably powerful gods or more accurately forces of nature have for human existence. And then how you tie each of them into flaws with human nature and make all magic costly it’s so bleak and hopeless I love it.
You’re just so creative and I admire your worldbuilding! The Refugium is the coolest thing.
Aan - Being as presence (Parmenides)
Hlaatikulmak - Being as Becoming (Heraclitus)
Nharrithaal - Being as thinking and unconcealing (Heidegger)
Imunrahar - Being as Truth and Beauty (Aristotle, Bonaventura)
Tsenkaras - Tehnke as progress and efficiency (Hegel, Marx)
Mohayzu and Virastir - Being as decay (Mainländer)
This is so original! Each essence has its own flaws, for example, Imunrakhar and Mohayzu both have their cons. No essence is "good" or "evil", they all should be used moderately or else you turn into an abomination of the essence; I *_like_* this system!
I love how you don't define the Essences by any clear-cut "good" or "evil" morals. Each on its own kinda sucks, because--as you said--too much of one Essence is never a good thing. Now that's how you do worldbuilding.
This is big lore material, which I absolutely adore. Keep up the great work, its always nice to have a peek into what you create.
This reminds me so much of how My name is Byf delivers his content, its almost scary.
A “refugium 40k” would be NUTS
not just 4, but a whole 7 eldritch concepts to sell your soul to!
I’m so glad the Refugium has made a return.
This man could totally set an GoT-like story in this universe and no one would complain, heck some people will want to animate it or reenact it
Got sucks so i bet this would blow up
When you think about it, it might not be that difficult to translate the Seven from "Game Of Thrones" to the Seven Essences.
Aan = Mother (constancy, stability)
Hlatikuulmak = Warrior (ferocity)
Ng'uri-thaal = Crone (hidden wisdom)
Imunrakhar = Maiden (purification)
Tsenkaras = Father (judge/ruler)
Mohayzu = Smith (independence)
Virastir = Stranger (death)
I need a 12 season bingeable tv series for this like yesterday
I think I figured out what each essence represents. This idea is based on the fact that this world was originally designed for table-top RPGs. Each essence is a player, and each player is roleplaying a different D&D alignment.
Aan - True Neutral
Hlatikuulmak - Chaotic Evil
Imunrakhar - Lawful Evil
Tsenkaras - Lawful Neutral
Mohayzu - Chaotic Neutral
Virastir - Neutral Evil
Nga'uri'thaal - the DM
If you had a game with 6 players who all wanted to play acolytes with either neutral or evil moral alignments, than each player would be able to pick an essence based on their alignment. The only essence that doesn't fit is Nga'uri'thaal, but given that Nga'uri'thaal is an essence based around secrets and knowledge, they probably represent the DM.
The thing that jumps out at me the most is that this world doesn't have anything to offer a player who chooses a good alignment. Maybe it's not meant to be played with a good alignment, or maybe there are 3 missing essences.
I love the Refugium! Can't wait for more!!
this magic system is obe of the best I've seen. full of mystery but defined enough to be creative.
I have a few questions, not about confusion but ones to hopefully bring even more depth to this wonderful project.
1. Has there ever been an acolyte that adheres to multiple Essences? I think this could be an interesting historical event.
2. Are there possibly more Essences than are currently known by man?
Yes and no
Probably there are some Avatar-like acolytes but the essences are only seven I think
Since the essences shown manifest based on human emotions or characteristics, maybe some essence is so alien and unknowable to us, humans, we aren't even made out of it. But since the Essence of SECRETS have manifested itself, I find it really hard to believe that another is hiding or in isolation.
1. I was asking myself the same thing, but the way he describes the acolytes is by being closer to one essence over all others, so I think such a person would be the exception to the exception,
but assuming two similar essences have some overlap in their goals, that would be interesting, I wonder if the acolyte would have an easier time avoiding the affliction, since it is the unbalance between essences, but would have a harder time trying not to lose one of these Powers by acting against the will on one of them, the person would have barely any free will, since it needs to please not one, but two essences at the same time.
@@Umbraminf yeah, like Aan and Tsenkaris seem to have similar goals
I love this video, but it is also completely terrifying
I love the vocabulary you have used in this video I could almost felt like the acolytes as you described them
Keep it up!
Was expecting something wholesome like the Seven Chakras, then realised they're actually much closer to the Seven Deadly Sins. Amazing video, rewatched twice.
Sick vid. Love this project. You're one of the few UA-camrs that only puts out content I enjoy. Stoked for the next alien biosphere video too.
more refugium, hell yeah! very cool concept, like others said it’s very cohesive and well-balanced. it’s clear you spent a lot of time thinking about this.
take all the time you need with your videos btw, they’re always worth the wait!
Already thinking about how I can reflavor dnd’s magic system to fit this…
Aan = abjuration
Hlatikuulmak = evocation
Nga’uri-thaal = divination
Imunrakhar = illusion
Tsenkaris = enchantment
Mohayzu = transmutation
Virastir = necromancy
I know I missed conjuration, but like, you can’t map eight to seven so…
Imunrahkar's endowment does not map to illusion (save for the glamor effect) but more to healing and repair.
So, rather than the normal fire/water/air/earth sort of elements, these ones are based off of order/chaos - the usual meanings of order and chaos are split up across seven elements, including some symmetries:
aan = order (permanence)
hlatikuulmak = chaos (volatility)
nga'uri-thaal = concealment and revelation
imunrakhar = perfection
tsenkaras = order (design)
mohayzu = chaos (anarchy)
virastir = death
You *need* to write a suite of novels exploring this amazing world, or get someone/some people to write it under your guidance.
I love how this isn't the same fire water earth and what not stuff all over again
nice to see a different "element" system
This is briliant. I could listen to your worldbuilding all day long
Aan: True Neutral
Hlatikuulmak: Chaotic Evil
Nga'uri-thaal: Neutral Good
Imunrakhar: Lawful Good
Tsenkaras: Lawful Neutral
Mohayzu: Chaotic Neutral
Virastir: Neutral Evil
Technically, all 7 placements are baselines that may change overtime as the affliction wears on.
I disagree on Nga'uri-thaal's placement on the alignment. It seems unrelated to any of the good vs evil or lawful vs chaotic scales. To me, it represents the DM. I can imagine that if the players aren't sure what to do, they can have the party go to an acolyte of Nga'uri-thaal and basically ask: "Hey DM, where's the plot supposed to be?"
I pegged Imunrakhar as Lawful Evil in a Knights Templar kind of way because the line "and they bear ever more disgust for all things but themselves" doesn't sound very Lawful Good to me and all the others were obviously either neutral or evil. But thinking about it more I kind of agree with you. I can imagine that in a party with one Lawful Good player and 5 Neutral or Evil players, the Lawful Good player might get really frustrated with the antics of the other players, and that frustration ends up affecting the player's acolytes.
Though if I'm right and there are actually meant to be 3 missing essences (because this world was made of TTRPGs), then the nature of the 3rd Lawful essence will probably make Imunrakhar's alignment more clear.
@@astrophysicsperson528 I only thought that such placements would be more of a baseline, that may or may not change overtime.
@@Iamwolf134 I thought of them from the perspective that this world was originally for TTRPGs, and once i thought about slotting the essences into alignments most of them started fitting so well that is seemed almost intentional. Like Mohayzu and Hlatikuulmak feel very similar when you first hear the explanation, but in terms of alignment it becomes obvious why they are the way they are. It becomes very easy to imagine the essences as the players and the DM acting on the world through the game. If the essences aren't the people but the alignments themselves, then it would make sense for the essences to be static representations of their alignment.
@@astrophysicsperson528 Yeah, I thought of the 7 essences being more dynamic in their dungeons and dragons alignment. And I agree with your assessment of Mohayzu and Hlatikuulmak having some things in common, such as having little to no Unity among its acolytes, and being chaotic and unpredictable in nature. Seeing as Mohayzu represents chaos, dissonance, aberration, and anarchy, and that Hlatikuulmak represents wantonness, passion, ferocity, and tumult, they're pretty danged similar.
Wonderful work! Do have a question though: what do the names of the essences mean?
Probably has something to do with what the essences are. Maybe very literal words in this world’s languages or something poetically associated with the concepts of the essences.
The video says that the Seven Essences actually have many names but that these are the most common ones.
I did not see this in my notifications when this came out so when I saw this in the recommended videos under another video I clicked on it automatically, not even finishing that video
PERFECTION
Your world is one of the best creation I've seen in my life. I firmly believe that you should (must!) write a book or manifest you world in any other shape and form. It truly deserves to be known.
this video had a long-lasting impact when it first came out, I hope you make more of this series!
woah
This is a really cool magic system.
I'm so happy that you finally released this! Best news, great stuff 😁
Interesting... Independently the type of content, it is always with high quality
the 7 magical vibes of the universe
Really enjoyed this integrated and starkly different approach to elements/pantheons in a fantasy world. I hope you do more such videos as they are good grist for thinking about my own world-building projects.
I really, really like this. Thank you greatly for sharing.
Thank you very much. I really love your channel and your videos are looking forward to a video about the industrial era.
I've been waiting on sequel for weeks thank you!
This is amazing, but I cant help but wonder if we're gonna get anymore of it
I had been waiting for so long for a video about the Refugium!
I wish I was that creative.
I would certainly enjoy more regular Refugium content. Excellent video!
Me: eating food
Biblaridion: starts describing the affliction of Mohayzu
Mistakes were made
Can we all, if so, just for a moment, appreciate Biblaridion's choice of words, for it resonates in one's mind with a melody of mysticism and is far more than fitting for this video.
This is brilliant
Biblaridion never disappoints!!!
This is one of the best you tube channels out there !!!
Yes! Thank you so much! I’ve waiting for this! I love this world :3
(I haven’t even watched this vid yet, I’m so excited!!!)
Amazing world building and balancing, love the refugium content :D
I think this is one of the best worldbuillding settings I've ever seen.
Gee, sounds like being an acolyte is a fate worse than death the longer you go on lol - interesting
i felt like screaming when i saw this in my notifs, im so happy
We need some form of show on this.
OH HELL YEAH! More Refugium lore 8s much appreciated.
Would it be considered "spoiler-ish" to discuss/speculate which in-world languages and vocabulary were used to derive the names for each essence used in the video?
Here's my attempt to coralate the essences with the Enneagram personality type:
Aan - 9
Hlatikuulmak - 7 and 3
Nga'uri-thaal - 5
Imunrakhar - 2
Tsenkaras - 1
Mohayzu - 8 and 4
Virastir - 6
Oh man, these guys are hella cool. There are so many aspects mashed into every one of these Essences it's hard to tell if some of them are more like each other than others. You did a fantastic job, dude.
Though, I think I'll steer clear of every single one of them. Becoming blind of your human qualities and dissipating into nothing? Yeah, no thanks. 👍
So that's what that circle was in the first video
Damn was hoping we get some more Refugium videos! Really interesting stuff! Especially love how each Essence has its own consequences the more you use its power.
This is so cool, I would absolutely play a game in this setting
I love this so much, it’s so unique and makes me feel bad for how stereotypical my world is in comparison.
ok so I have kind of a mini theory about the essences and the refugium. There are 5 moons circling around 1 sun in the sky, as well as another moon the circles around the entire refugium which is how people in the refugium keep track of the years. In total, 7 celestial bodies and 7 essences, what if each body is where the essences come from and each one represented a different essence. The sun could either represent Imunrakhar as it's a source of light or beauty, but it could also be aan as it's stationary and the only body that doesn't move. If the sun is aan then having the year moon being Virastir would line up as well as it marks the passage of time and unlike the sun it moves more than any other body. This is speculation of course, idk if it's true, but this is just what I think.
The Sun representing Aan also explains why the empire of the Sun is so unwilling to change ideologically (as it was explained in the previous Refugium video)
I don't think so bcuz they don't line up well
Also I don't think each celestial body represents an essence. Simply because if Mohayzu had a moon its trajectory would be absolutely random out of the nature of the essence itself
Hmm. Seven essences, five central moons, a sun, and one far off moon. I wonder which is which.
OH MY GOD IT'S FINNALY HAPPENED
I’m definitely a Mohayzu leaning guy.
Awesome! Amazing worldbuilding and Magic system!
Sick magic system, has a deep sorcery feel on the level of The Elders Scrolls.
Absolutely love this.
Cosmic forces that are both the shadows of the psyche and are what lie beneath the mantle of gods?
What, was this tailor made for me???
Beautiful world building
I love the new refugium lore stuff keep it up
YES ! , A UPDATE ON THE REFUGIUM!!!
Forget astrology, this is what everyone is going to use to classify themselves now...
The narration smacks of The Silmarillion. I love it.
Finally some refugium lore!
Looking forward to seeing more of your world. I tend to disregard the absolute most of ideas concerning worldbuilding, including mine own, but your work, i think, is actually unique. Well done!
I wonder if Buzzfeed’s gonna find this video, and try and make a quiz about it.
finally a refugium vid :D
Whenever I see cosmic horror-esque magic systems I go absolutely buck wild. Absolutely stunning, 10/10
I find funny how the implantation of this metaphysical explanation of the refugium gave it the more life-like aspects of religions in a fictional world. The Lord of the Rings universe is another example that resembles a lot the religious thoughts that existed irl. Oftentimes, when a fictional religious system is created solely out of miss interpretations of physical aspects of the world, to me it feels weak in comparison to existing beliefs of the real world. To me it could be an indication that more elements are present in the formation of religions than what is presently known.
I’d love a dnd campaign set in the refugium